The modified servo being calibrated on the left half of the screen, with some graphs of its operation being shown on the right half.

Servo Surgery Teaches Us DIY Encoder Implants

Today, we shall talk about how [Adam Bäckström] took a DS3225 servo and rebuilt it to improve its accuracy, then built a high-precision robot arm with those modified servos to show just how much of an improvement he’s got – up to 36 times better positional accuracy. If this brings a déjà vu feeling, that’s because we’ve covered his servo modifications before, but now, there’s more. In a year’s time since the last video came out, [Adam] has taken it to the next level, showing us how the modification is made, and how we ourselves can do it, in a newly released video embedded below.

After ordering replacement controller PCBs designed by [Adam] (assembled by your PCBA service of choice), you disassemble the servo, carefully setting the gearbox aside for now. Gutting the stock control board is the obvious next step, but from there, you don’t just drop the new PCB in – there’s more to getting a perfect servo than this, you have to add extra sensing, too. First, you have to print a spacer and a cover for the control board, as well as a new base for the motor. You also have to print (or perhaps, laser-cut) two flat encoder disks, one black and one white, the white one being eccentric. It only escalates from here!

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An Auto-Leveling Gyro Camera For Motorcycle Enthusiasts

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[Saftari] was inspired by the technology used to capture video in the MotoGP World Championship races to create these instructables on how to build an auto-leveling Gyro camera. The setup he developed maintains the camera at a consistent level perpendicular to the earth no matter how much the motorcycle angles against the ground when turning.

The components involved include an Arduino Uno, a Triple Axis Accelerometer, a digital servo, and a Gyro breakout board. A bracket was built to house and secure the camera to the side of the vehicle. 2mm acrylic was used for this and was bent by heating up the material. Once complete, test runs were completed showcasing the capabilities of this type of Do-It-Yourself rig.

The quality of the video after the break is a little bit blurry, but it proves the point that a Gyro camera setup can be built at home:

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